Half of Chhattisgarh’s diamond belt in Maoist strongholds (Lead)
August 2nd, 2010 - 8:21 pm ICT by IANS
Raipur, Aug 2 (IANS) Diamond reserves could be present in eight belts in Chhattisgarh, half of which are in Maoist strongholds, Chief Minister Raman Singh said Monday.
“A total eight belts have been listed as having possible reserves of kimberlite that contains diamonds,” Singh informed the assembly in a written reply to Congress member and former chief minister Ajit Jogi.
Singh said that districts of Bijapur, Dantewada, Bastar, Kanker and Narayanpur were among the list of possible diamond rich areas.
These five districts form a sprawling 40,000 sq km Maoist stronghold since late 1980s.
Police claim that up to 25,000 sq km area is intensively mined by Maoists and rebels run a parallel government in hundreds of villages of these districts with their hideouts ringed by land mines.
The chief minister said that Chhota Dongar belt in Bastar, Narayanpur and Bijapur districts was among the eight listed for possible diamond reserves.
The others are Tokapal belt in Bastar, Dantewada and Bijapur, Narayanpur-Lanjor belt in Kanker, Bastar, Narayanpur districts, Kanker-Keshkal belt in Kanker, Durg, Dhamtari and Bastar districts, Behradih belt in Raipur and Dhamtari districts, Pithora in Mahasamund and Raipur districts, Sarangarh belt in Raigarh, Janjgir, Mahasamund and Raipur districts and Eib-Maini belt in Jashpur, Raigarh and Surguja districts.
Singh told the house that the state has a confirmed deposit of diamonds at Pailikhand in Gariaband area in Raipur district and a local forest management committee and forest guards were looking after the security of the deposits.
He informed that the confirmed diamond rich site has been fenced and government was taking actions against complaints received about illegal diamond mining.
State’s Bharatiya Janata Party government is facing criticism for its controversial decision to recall police force from the site in July this year.
The Congress alleged the state government has left the 18-hectare high-quality diamond site for Maoists who have consolidated their base in and around the Pailikhand area since recall of police force.
- Half of Chhattisgarh's diamond belt in Maoist strongholds - Aug 02, 2010
- Maoists blast in tourist destination Chitrakot - Feb 07, 2011
- Chhattisgarh ups security after Maoists threat - Jan 25, 2011
- Maoists blast Chitrakot police post, disrupt Bastar life (Lead) - Feb 07, 2011
- Maoists kill villager, blast Chitrakot police post (Second Lead) - Feb 07, 2011
- Three armed Maoists held in Chhattisgarh - Mar 05, 2011
- Landmines recovered in Chhattisgarh - Apr 28, 2011
- CRPF trooper killed in Maoist attack - Sep 18, 2011
- Chhattisgarh to step up Maoist offensive - Oct 12, 2010
- Maoist 'protest week' hits life in Chhattisgarh (Lead) - Jul 04, 2011
- Maoists oppose Chhattisgarh's foundation anniversary - Oct 28, 2011
- 25 kg landmine defused in Chhattisgarh - May 10, 2011
- Maoists fire at passenger bus in Chhattisgarh - Oct 19, 2010
- Bombs found in Chhattisgarh's Maoist heartland - Jan 01, 2012
- Chhattisgarh on high alert after Kishanji's killing - Nov 25, 2011
Tags: ajit jogi, bharatiya janata party, chhattisgarh, chief minister, congress member, controversial decision, diamond mining, forest guards, hideouts, kanker, kimberlite, land mines, maoist, maoists, parallel government, party government, raman singh, rich areas, strongholds, surguja